It wasn't entirely his fault for missing the details; this was an unusual situation.
Master Ban silently thought to himself.
After all, for so many years, he had mostly dealt with Array Masters with white hair, and had never seen a young Array Master, just around ten years old, drawing arrays for such a large-scale artifact crafting project.
Master Ban couldn't help but be amazed.
With an Array Master now present, Master Ban also breathed a sigh of relief. Having nothing else to do, he stood behind Mo Hua with Elder Yu, stretching his neck to watch Mo Hua draw the arrays.
Seeing Master Ban's intense focus, Elder Yu couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Do you understand?"
Master Ban shook his head, "No." He countered, "Do you?"
Elder Yu also shook his head, "No. What are you looking at?"
Master Ban replied, "You're watching too, aren't you?"
Master Ban silently thought to himself, This is the first time I've seen such a young child drawing arrays, I'm more curious than you are.
Master Ban glanced at Mo Hua, then at the arrays Mo Hua was drawing, and asked in a low voice, "What grade are these arrays?"
Elder Yu wasn't quite sure either, but based on Mo Hua's array level, he estimated, "First Grade, perhaps."
Master Ban was startled, exclaiming, "Ah?"
Elder Yu shot him a reproachful look and whispered, "Keep your voice down, don't disturb his drawing."
Master Ban lowered his voice, "What do you mean by First Grade?"
"First Grade arrays," Elder Yu replied.
Master Ban shook his head repeatedly, "Impossible!"
"Believe it or not," Elder Yu responded indifferently.
Master Ban didn't believe it but thought Elder Yu wouldn't lie to him either. After much consideration, he could only stare at the arrays under Mo Hua's pen.
Although he didn't understand arrays, he could count the array patterns.
One, two... five, this one only has five patterns.
One, two, three... seven, this one only has seven patterns.
Master Ban's feelings grew complex. A young cultivator, able to draw seven array patterns, was already on par with the average Array Master.
With this level, he unconsciously said "only" seven patterns, indicating his lack of understanding...
Master Ban continued counting.
Finally, in a single array that Mo Hua completed, he counted nine patterns!
Nine patterns indicate a First Grade array!
Master Ban was deeply shocked.
"Is it really a First Grade array?"
Elder Yu, seeing his astonished expression, felt a secret satisfaction. When he first heard that Mo Hua could draw First Grade arrays, he had the same expression and tone, likely thinking the same as Master Ban now.
Master Ban looked at Elder Yu, his voice trembling slightly but still trying to keep it down, "So... is this child now a First Grade Array Master?"
"Not officially certified by the Dao Court yet," Elder Yu replied.
"Still, that's incredible..."
Master Ban shook his head, still finding it hard to believe.
Now, when he watched Mo Hua draw arrays, his heart was filled with admiration and even a hint of reverence.
This was a First Grade array, something he had rarely seen Array Masters accomplish in his lifetime.
Master Ban leaned in again, looking at the arrays on the cornerstone, and couldn't help but praise, "These arrays are drawn so well!"
Elder Yu said, "I thought you didn't understand arrays?"
"No need to understand!" Master Ban waved his hand, "These arrays are drawn as if carved from a mold, so neat and beautiful. I've never seen such neat array patterns in my life!"
Mo Hua was praised, and Elder Yu felt secretly pleased but maintained a modest appearance, "He's still a child, with much to learn."
Master Ban was once again engrossed in the arrays, ignoring him.
After completing a composite array, Mo Hua felt his spiritual energy almost exhausted and stopped drawing to sit and rest for a while.
Elder Yu immediately stepped forward, his expression kindly, "Are you tired?"
It was the first time Master Ban had seen such a "kind" expression on Elder Yu's face.
Having dealt with Elder Yu for so many years, his impression was always of a grumpy, cold, and harsh person.
At this moment, Elder Yu looked like a "benevolent" old grandfather...
It was as if he had become a different person.
Master Ban was truly surprised.
Mo Hua was indeed tired; drawing arrays on various large-scale construction materials consumed a lot of spiritual energy and awareness, but it was still within his expected range.
"I'm fine, I need to meditate and rest for a while."
Mo Hua said, actually intending to use meditation techniques to recover his spiritual energy.
"Okay, rest well, no rush."
Elder Yu said kindly, then refrained from disturbing Mo Hua, instead examining the completed arrays, thinking to himself that Master Ban wasn't wrong; they were indeed neat and beautiful.
Hearing Elder Yu's words, Master Ban suddenly became concerned.
Elder Yu might not be in a hurry, but he couldn't afford to be.
He pulled Elder Yu aside and asked quietly, "How many Array Masters did you hire?"
"What do you mean by 'how many'?"
"The Array Masters for drawing the architectural arrays."
Elder Yu was slightly taken aback.
Master Ban was stunned, "Surely it can't be just Mo Hua alone?"
Elder Yu hesitated, "One should be enough..."
Master Ban said angrily, "How can one be enough? There are so many arrays, how can a single child complete them? Even if he could, how long would this project take..."
Such a large artifact crafting shop, with so many craftsmen, how could they afford the delay...
Elder Yu stroked his beard, also frowning.
He hadn't really thought about it in detail before, having always been confident in leaving the array work to Mo Hua.
Even if he wasn't confident, it wouldn't matter, as he didn't understand arrays himself.
But what Master Ban said made sense; the architectural array diagram was densely packed with arrays, and it was unclear if Mo Hua could complete it alone.
Too much drawing could deplete his spiritual energy, which could harm his sea of consciousness.
Elder Yu was somewhat worried. It would be fine if the progress of the artifact crafting shop slowed down, but Mo Hua mustn't be overworked.
However, Elder Yu also thought that generally, Mo Hua handled array-related matters very carefully, and if he hadn't mentioned any issues, there probably weren't any.
Elder Yu asked Master Ban, "Normally, how many Array Masters would it take to complete this many arrays?"
"At least five or six, up to a dozen."
Elder Yu was shocked, "That many?"
Master Ban couldn't help but roll his eyes, "What did you think? Architectural arrays contain a large number of array patterns, not something one or two Array Masters can finish."
Elder Yu's face flushed with embarrassment, though it was hard to tell given his dark complexion.
He really wasn't aware of such matters.
Previously, the Demon Hunter Hall was very poor, with no spirit stones for such large-scale constructions; building a few rooms was already good, without needing arrays.
Now, having come into a windfall, they decided to build an artifact crafting shop so the lower-level wandering cultivators could live better. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how challenging architectural arrays were.
Without Mo Hua, hiring Array Masters would have cost a significant amount of spirit stones.
Once the artifact crafting and pill refining shops were built and profitable, he must allocate more spirit stones to Mo Hua.
Elder Yu thought to himself.